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Special Educational Needs &
Disability Policy March 2018
1
Shine
Our School
We pride ourselves on being an inclusive school, where we celebrate diversity and
difference and acknowledge the richness that this brings to our school community. We aim
to provide opportunities for all children to access a broad, balanced and creative curriculum
that is personalised to meet children’s individual needs, regardless of age, gender, ability,
ethnicity, language or background that is personalised to meet the children’s individual
needs.
We welcome all children including those who have different learning styles and may be
identified as having Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND). We have high
expectations for our pupils and will ensure that all children make progress in both their
academic and social and emotional development.
Inclusion is at the centre of our schools aims and values. We are committed to a whole
school approach – SEND is a shared responsibility by the whole school and all members of
the school community.
The aims of the school are:
To promote welcoming, positive and empathetic attitudes towards all pupils.
To secure sufficient and appropriate support for the pupil, the parents and the school,
ensuring good links are established. We work hard to maintain links with parents,
health, social care and education professionals.
To promote the individual development of each and every pupil, allowing
opportunities for all pupils to become independent, confident and resilient, and to
ensure they are fully prepared for the next stage of their education.
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This policy aims to:
Communicate with parents/carers, staff, the local community and the Local Authority,
to set out how we will make high quality provision for children with SEND and
remove barriers to their progress.
To reflect how ensure access for all children to the full spectrum of life at Sir Thomas
Abney Primary School, academically, socially and emotionally, through extended
services and through promoting community cohesion.
Summarise the roles and responsibilities of different people in the school community
with regards to the inclusion of pupils with SEND.
Outline how pupils with SEND are identified, and how provision for pupils with SEND is
tracked, assessed and monitored.
Outline how parents and pupils will be involved in the school’s SEND provision.
To summarise how transitions for children with SEND between years, and into the
next stage of education will be supported.
A shared vision of inclusion permeates all policies. This policy should be read in conjunction
with other policies that describe how we provide support, guidance and encouragement to
learners in our schools. We have an Equality Policy and a School Accessibility Plan, which
describe how we are improving the school for children and adults with disabilities and how
this sits within the whole School Improvement Plan. We have a Medical Needs policy, which
sets out how we provide for pupils with medical needs, ensuring they are able to fully access
the curriculum. We also have a Safeguarding Policy, which outlines our support for
vulnerable children and children in our care. These are all available from the school office.
Legislation and statutory requirements:
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This policy complies with the statutory requirement laid out in the SEND Code of Practice 0 -
25 (DfE/DoH, 2015) and has been written with reference to the following guidance and
documents:
Equality Act 2010: advice for schools (DfE, 2013)
SEND Code of Practice 0 – 25 (DfE/DoH, 2015)
Schools SEN Information Report Regulations (2015)
Statutory Guidance on supporting pupils at school with medical conditions (DfE, 2014)
The National Curriculum in England Key Stage 1 and 2 framework document (DfE,
2013)
The school’s Safeguarding Policy, Accessibility Policy, and Medical Needs Policy
The Inclusion Team at Sir Thomas Abney includes:
Inclusion Manager – Maxine Apcher
SENCo – Eloise Adamson
Speech and Language Therapists – Kate Day, Anna Sowerbutts and Rima Lallbeeharry
SEND Link Governor – Lisa Niedich
Specialist Teaching Assistants – including Speech and Language Therapy Assistants
Definitions of Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND)
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At Sir Thomas Abney a pupil is defined as having SEND when s/he has a learning difficulty or
disability which requires support above and beyond that normally provided in classrooms in
terms of Highest Quality Teaching. A pupil of compulsory school age has a learning difficulty
if she or he has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the
same age or has a disability which prevents or hinders him/her from making use of the kind
of support generally provided for others of the same age in the school (SEND Code of
Practice 0-25, 2015.) Disability is defined as a “physical or mental impairment which has long
term and substantial adverse effect on a child’s ability to carry out normal day to day
activities” (Equalities Act 2010).
The SEND 0-25 Code of Practice 2015 describes four areas of need. It is recognised that
some children will experience difficulties in more than one area:
1. Communication and interaction
Speech and language difficulties, including Developmental Language
Disorder (DLD): These pupils have difficulty in communicating with others.
This may be because the find it hard to say what they want to, or because
they find it difficult to understand what is being said to them.
Autistic Spectrum Disorders, including Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism
(ASD): These pupils are likely to have difficulties with social interaction. They
may also experience difficulties with language, communication and
imagination, which can impact on how they relate to others.
2. Cognition and learning
Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD): These pupils may learn at a slower
pace than their peers, even with appropriate differentiation.
Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD): These pupils are likely to need support in
all areas of the curriculum. They may also have some associated difficulties
with mobility and communication.
Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD): These pupils are likely
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to have severe and complex learning difficulties, as well as a physical or
sensory impairment.
Specific learning difficulties: These pupils may have a specific difficulty in one
or more areas of learning, for example dyslexia or dyscalculia.
3. Social, emotional and mental health
Children with social, emotional and mental health difficulties (SEMH) may experience
a wide range of social and emotional difficulties. This might include
Mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression
Self-harming, substance misuse, eating disorders or physical symptoms
which are medically unexplained.
Disorders such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD),
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or attachment disorder.
4. Sensory and/or physical/medical needs
Some pupils require special educational provision because they have a disability
which prevents or hinders them from accessing the curriculum. This might include:
Pupils with a vision impairment (VI), hearing impairment (HI) or multi-
sensory impairment (MSI).
Sensory processing difficulties: these pupils experience difficulties with
processing their sensory responses.
Physical/Medical difficulties: the school’s medical needs and accessibility
policy further sets out how the needs of these pupils are met.
Difficulties with fine or gross motor skills
Admission and induction arrangements for pupils with SEND
We welcome children with SEND into our school. The Local Authority’s SEND department
informs us when parents/carers of a child with a Statement or EHC Plan of SEND request a
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place at our school. All other requests for places for children with SEND, who do not have a
EHC plan, are processed using the Local Authority admission criteria for allocating places for
all children.
Our school induction arrangements for children with SEND include:
The Inclusion Leader/SENCo gathers information from the parents and outside
agencies (including early years providers) involved with the child
The Inclusion Leader/SENCo makes appropriate admission arrangements for the child.
These may include visiting the child in their previous school, providing the child with
visual information about our school, and arranging for the child to visit the school
prior to starting.
Home visits to all new pupils
Buddy systems
We are committed to working in partnership with parents to ensure a smooth start to their
child’s time with us.
Our Speech and Language Provision
We are an additionally resourced school for pupils with speech and language impairments.
All children placed in the resource provision are placed here by the local authority.
What is an LRS?
LRS stands for Language Resourced School and Sir Thomas Abney School is one of two LRS
schools in Hackney. An LRS is an additional provision to a mainstream primary school for
children who have an identified Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). Children with an
LRS place have a specially funded place at the school. At Sir Thomas Abney, we receive
funding for 18 places from Nursery through to Year Six. Sir Thomas Abney may not be the
local school for children who have a LRS place; in fact many of the LRS children travel from
different parts of hackney and some may get transport funded by the LEA in order to do so.
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What is a Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)?
DLD is a disorder of language development, which cannot be explained by other
developmental difficulties. Children with DLD have relative strengths with their non-verbal
cognitive (thinking) skills compared to their verbal (language) skills. They may also have
difficulties with speech production. As language is so closely linked to learning, children
with DLD often will have difficulties with learning and memory too.
How do the children get an LRS place?
Children are referred to a panel at Hackney Learning Trust who decide if a child meets the
criteria for DLD and may allocate an LRS place. The panel is held termly and is attended by a
Speech and Language Therapist, the Inclusion Manager, Specialist Teacher, LEA SEND Officer
and an Educational Psychologist. As the panel is held each term, new children may be
allocated a start date for an LRS place at different times throughout the year.
What support do the children receive?
LRS children may receive any of the following support from a teacher, Speech and Language
Therapist/Assistant and/or Teaching Assistant;
Makaton sessions with a Speech and Language Therapist (Early Years)
Language enriched environment – e.g. visual timetables, staff trained in Makaton
and additional strategies for supporting language (e.g. Colourful Semantics, Word
Aware);
Small group teaching for maths and literacy;
Regular language groups;
Individual language programme;
Individual/group Memory programme;
Individual speech production programme;
Social skills groups;
Curriculum support group (eg. Word Aware);
TA support in class;
Whole class sessions in the classroom from a teacher or SLT;
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Playground support;
Opportunity to attend lunch club to support social skills and play;
Who works with LRS children?
All teachers and support staff work with children from the LRS as part of their mainstream
classes. All staff receive ongoing training on how to meet the needs of children with DLD
within the mainstream setting and on using specific resources/interventions with these
children. Specific staff, who provide additional support, are the Inclusion Manager, SENCo,
Speech and Language Therapist Assistant, Specialist TA/EYE and Speech and Language
Therapists who work with staff on assessments, interventions and monitoring.
Identifying Special Educational Needs:
At Sir Thomas Abney School we cater for different needs through careful planning. We
record all pupils’ progress as part of our monitoring and assessment practices. In the
Foundation Stage these include child observations and profile books. In Key Stage One and
Two, we carry out termly tracking of progress in English and Maths. Class teachers
communicate any concerns early on to parents/carers. We hold termly pupil progress
meetings where progress and attainment are discussed with Class Teacher and TA, Inclusion
Leader, Headteacher, SENCo and/or another member of Senior Leadership Team. Together
we consider all of the information gathered alongside national expectations and
expectations of progress.
The school takes great care over the identification and assessment of children whose first
language is not English. We do not assume that lack of progress in English means that a child
has a special educational need. However, we are aware that for some children new to
English, slow progress may be a result of a special educational need.
When a child is flagged up as a concern, the school has a graduated response. Three ‘waves’
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of support are available for pupils, as described below:
Wave 1: Quality First Teaching
Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of the children
in their class, including where children access support from teaching assistants and the
Language Resource Provision. High quality teaching, differentiated for individual children, is
the first step in responding to children who have or may have SEND. Staff have identified
the ways in which the curriculum can be differentiated (see Appendix A for a summary
compiled by staff at Sir Thomas Abney).
Where a pupil has been flagged as a concern, either by the teacher, parents, or through one
of the monitoring processes discussed above, the first response will be high quality
teaching. The Inclusion Manager or SENCo will meet with the teacher and support staff and
discuss appropriate strategies and in class support that the pupil might benefit from (See
Appendix B for a full list of Wave 1 – 3 interventions and strategies). The pupil will be
carefully monitored and assessed to ensure that they are making sufficient progress.
Wave 2: Special Educational Needs: School Support (SS)
A child will be considered for Special Educational Need Support (SS) if the concerns
continue for a period of longer than one term and the Wave 1 intervention provided by the
class teacher is not having a sufficient impact. Generally a child’s attainment will be below
national expectations in one core subject and/or they may exhibit difficulties in one of the
following areas:
Speech and Language difficulties
Inability to focus and attend in class
Significant gross and fine motor difficulty
Significant other physical or medical difficulties
Significant social, emotional or mental health difficulties.
Targeted action is taken. This is additional to or different from those normally provided as
part of the school’s differentiated curriculum. Parents will be invited to meet with a member
10
of the Inclusion Team and the class teacher. The class teacher and Inclusion Leader or
SENCo will decide on appropriate support in collaboration with parents/carers. This may
include:
Wave 2 interventions: see Appendix B
Increased liaison with parents/carers
Special equipment or materials (e.g. handwriting grips, coloured overlays or sensory
aids)
Support Plans (which clearly outline strategies, targets and provision for the pupil)
Support from the Pastoral Team
Deployment of staff to provide additional support to individuals or groups
The provision we make will be recorded and shared with the parent/carer and the child.
Wave 3: Special Educational Needs: School Support (SS)
If a child continues to make little or no progress despite interventions, our school will draw
on one or more specialised assessments from external professionals and agencies. These
could include:
Speech and Language Therapist
Educational Psychologist
Specialist Teams for visual, hearing and physical impairment
First Steps (CAMHS)
Pastoral Support Team
Re-Engagement Unit
Complex Communication Clinic.
Occupational Therapist
New targets are written for the child in consultation with the parents to incorporate the
advice from the external agencies.
Pupil Voice
Pupils described as having SEND are actively involved in making decisions about their own
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learning and support. They are invited to termly review meetings to update their support
plans and set new targets. Children also express their views on their progress and support
prior to an Annual Review and when completing their ‘One Page Profiles’ prior to
transitioning to a new class.
Support Plans
Support Plans are currently written for all children with an EHC Plan, LRS children and
children who need Wave 3 interventions. They are reviewed termly by the class
teacher/class TA and Inclusion Team, in consultation with parents/carers and the pupil
where appropriate. Support Plans should outline key strategies and a timetable of provision.
There is generally a maximum 2/3 targets on a Support Plan and these should relate to
learning behaviours – e.g. independence, attention and listening.
Class teachers keep copies of all reports or documents relating to children’s SEND in a
designated blue SEND folder. Individual children’s files are kept centrally in a secure location
(currently in the SENCo’s office).
If we feel that the child is making adequate progress, s/he may no longer need to receive
SEND provision. We consider a child to have made adequate progress when s/he no longer
meets our criteria for SEND. We will record this discussion in the child’s SEND file. We will
keep these records for reference and pass them on when s/he transfers to another school.
Statutory Assessment/Education Health and Care Plans
If following further intervention and review in consultation with parents/carers and external
agencies, the child does not make adequate progress and is thought to have significant,
lifelong and complex needs, the school will consider requesting a Statutory Assessment for
an Educational, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. An EHC Plan is a legal document that describes
a pupil’s special educational, health and social care needs. It explains the extra help that
will be given to meet those needs, and how that help will support the pupil to achieve what
they want to whilst at school, and as they transition into adulthood.
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A child will only obtain a Statutory Assessment or EHC Plan if the school is able to ascertain
that the child has significant, long term and complex needs. The Local Education Authority
(Hackney Learning Trust) sets out the criteria for this.
The ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ cycle at Sir Thomas Abney:
Sir Thomas Abney follows a graduated response of support to pupils with SEND, following
the four step process (assess, plan, do, review) set out in the SEND Code of Practice.
1. Assess
Where a pupil has been identified as having SEND, the Inclusion Manager or SENCo will
carry out an analysis of the pupils needs in collaboration with the class teacher, TA/EYE and
parents/carers.
2. Plan
Where it is decided that Wave 2 or 3 interventions are necessary, the school will work with
the parents/carers and pupil to agree on a set of targeted outcomes for the pupil, and the
interventions and support to be put in place to support the pupil in achieving these
outcomes.
3. Do
The interventions and support plan agreed in the planning stage will be put into action.
Support might include:
Intervention groups run by TAs (including specialist TAs)
TAs supporting individual work
Small group teaching of individuals and groups
Social skills groups – e.g. Lego therapy
Support from Pastoral Team for individuals, groups and whole classes
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Booster classes for English and Maths
Inclusion Leader planning alongside Teacher to help develop teacher’s
understanding of strategies to support vulnerable children
3. Review
Support Plans assist class teachers and Teaching Assistants in differentiating the curriculum.
Through this varied provision and with high expectations, we aim to maximise progress
whatever a child’s starting point.
Pupils in the LRS will have termly SEND review meetings with the Inclusion Manager or
SENCo, parents/carers and their Speech and Language Therapist. The Speech and Language
Team write individual programmes and set individual targets for each pupil in the LRS, and
these are reviewed as often as necessarily (at least once per term).
Termly pupil progress meetings and SEND review meetings for pupils receiving Wave 3
support are held. Targets are assessed, and new targets are set as appropriate. Provision is
adjusted as appropriate following the review meetings.
Annual Reviews for children with EHC plans are held once a year. For children under 5, EHC
plans are reviewed every 6 months. If there are significant concerns around the progress of
a pupil with an EHC plan, an emergency annual review may be held, in order to ensure the
provision outlined in the plan is meeting the pupils needs.
Interventions and monitored and tracked to ensure that they are effective and having the
maximum impact possible on pupil progress.
How we train our teaching and support staff:
We understand the importance of training in special needs, inclusion and disability equality.
We recognise that teaching and support staff will need regular training on aspects of SEND
and inclusion in order to update policy and inform practice.
We keep training needs under review. All staff discuss their individual training needs
at performance management review meetings;
A member of the Inclusion Team meets regularly with TAs;
We hold regular SEND training sessions for all staff – at least once each term;
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All members of the Inclusion Team are available for informal discussions during the
school day. This includes Speech and Language Therapists.
The school regularly provides training on Speech and Language strategies, which
further supports the Language Resource School.
At times, we also have whole school training on particular issues and we invite
external trainers into school to provide training and support to staff.
Staff can request to attend training at any time.
A member of the Inclusion Team can meet with staff at any time to advise on best
practice.
Recent training includes:
Running Language Groups (Support Staff)
Positive Interaction – supporting children with DLD (formally SLI)
LaunchPad (Early Years)
Understanding Autism
Positive Handling
Mindfulness and yoga training to support children with social and emotional
difficulties
Effective differentiation and sharing good practice
Running Language Groups in the Foundation Stage
Word Aware (teaching vocabulary)
Working with children with Autistic Spectrum Conditions
Colourful Semantics
Supporting pupils with SEND in Maths and Literacy
Memory Magic
Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)
Attention Autism and Intensive Interaction interventions
We also work closely with other professionals such as specialist teachers and therapists who
provide advice and guidance to staff for supporting children with specific needs.
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How we work in partnership with parents and carers:
We understand the importance of working in close partnership with parents and carers of
children with SEND and work hard to ensure good communication. Parents/carers are
valued as the people who know their children best and their views and needs are taken into
consideration.
Parents/carers are also involved in making a positive contribution to the education of their
children through:
Good communication including telephone, email and face to face conversations;
Working towards person-centred planning for SEND and Annual Review meetings;
Home visits for all new pupils;
Home-school communication books (where appropriate);
We regularly meet parents/carers to discuss any questions and/or concerns that they
may have about their children’s education;
Coffee mornings for parents of children with SEND;
A systematic effort to support parents/carers through periods of transition – e.g. by
clearly explaining procedures, paying visits to new settings (internal or external),
having interviews with newcomers and making sure that all needs are
communicated effectively so that they can be followed up successfully. The Inclusion
Team and Phase 2 Leader play an important role in supporting both children and
parents/carers in transition to secondary school;
Parents/carers of pupils with SEND can approach school staff to discuss the progress
of their children and to seek information and advice and are also given the space to
express concerns and complaints about any issue around their children’s provision
formally and informally. The school responds to these concerns by arranging
meetings with the stakeholders and external professionals where appropriate to
clarify matters;
Signposting parents/carers to appropriate services to address their needs;
Good links with SENDIAGS (The Hackney SEND Information, Advice and Guidance
16
service) to support communication with parents/carers;
A link to the local offer is available on our website for parents and carers and the SEND
Information Report explains what is ordinarily available at Sir Thomas Abney.
How we work with external agencies:
The school works successfully with many outside agencies:
The Educational Psychologist (EP) meets regularly with the Inclusion Team during
termly Multi-Agency Planning (MAP) meetings to agree a programme of support for
the school and advice on individual children. Sometimes this will involve statutory
assessment work and participation in assessments and reviews for children with
statements. However, it is the intention of the school that the EP should be provided
with an overview of the school’s special educational needs and may be engaged in
other forms of intervention such as support for parents and training for staff.
As we are a Language Resourced School (LRS), we have Speech and Language
Therapists (SaLTs) on site for most of the week. The SaLTs work with all the children
in the LRS, as well as children in the mainsteam school who have been identified as
needing support with their speech, language or communication.
The Speech and Language Therapists (SaLTs) provide regular staff training and daily
advice to teaching and support staff. They also provide resources for interventions
and on a bespoke basis.
We also work with highly specialist SaLTs to support children with eating/drinking
difficulties and those with Autistic Spectrum Conditions.
The School Nurse meets regularly with a member of the Inclusion Team to review
medical needs, concerns and update Medical Care Plans. The School Nurse is able to
liaise with parents to offer advice around pupil’s medical needs.
We have visits from specialist teachers who work with children with Statements/EHC
plans and provide advice for class teachers and TAs.
We work closely with professionals from CAMHs to ensure thorough assessments of
the needs of children who have been referred to the service. We ensure that we
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provide accurate and meaningful information to support the assessments.
There are also links and collaboration with the following agencies that make a contribution
to the efforts of the school to create a happy, inclusive and meaningful environment for all:
The Attendance Officer - providing attendance support
Health Service - particularly through the school nurse, Occupational and Physio-
therapists
Social Services
Cariss Creative (providers of therapy)
Specialist Teams for visual and hearing impairment, physical disability and autistic
spectrum conditions
Traveller/Roma Support Service
Re-engagement Team
How we support pupils with SEND in their transition to secondary school
Children from Sir Thomas Abney Primary School move on to a variety of secondary
schools. We carry out a transition project for all children in Year 6, led by the Phase 2
Leader. Additional support for individual children will be provided as necessary.
As part of the transition project, the Inclusion Team will try to arrange an additional
visit to their new school for any vulnerable children. The Inclusion Team also arrange
visits to appropriate specialist schools/provisions for parents/carers of the most
vulnerable children with SEND.
For children with an EHCP, or for those children who are part of the LRS, we run an
additional Transition Group in the Summer term which is led by the Speech and
Language Team.
When children with EHCPs are in Year 5, the Inclusion Team meet with the child and
the parents/carers to discuss possible secondary school provision in the summer
term. The SENCo of the new school is invited to attend either an Annual Review or
SEND review in the Summer Term when the pupil is in Y6.
For children with special educational needs who do not have statements, the Year 6
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teacher/Phase Leader will meet with the Y7 transition teacher of the new school to
discuss the child’s particular needs with this teacher. We pass on all the records to
the receiving school.
When a child transfers to another primary school we pass on the SEND records and a
member of the Inclusion Team will, if possible, speak to the teacher with
responsibility for SEND at the new school. We send our pupil Transition Form to new
schools which summarises key needs and provision.
How we support pupils with SEND in their transition between year groups:
There are a number of measures in place that support a smooth transfer of all children to
the next school year. In addition to these, we have the following measures for children with
SEND:
The Inclusion Team ensures that all records are passed to the next class teacher
At the hand-over meeting in the summer term the current class teacher shares
detailed information with the new class teacher and support staff.
Personalised ‘One Page Profiles’ are completed by the most vulnerable children with
SEND with a member of staff in order to share information with their new teacher or
TA.
Behaviour plans are communicated with the class teacher and if needed with the
whole school
We put in place additional strategies for individual children e.g extra visits to the new
classroom, photo books, buddying with older child, extra opportunities to work with
new teacher or support staff prior to transition.
Use of social stories for within school transitions – such as a change of teacher or TA
etc. during the year (especially for children who work one-to-one with adults)
How we fund our SEND provision:
The school receives funding for pupils with SEND from the Local Authority. In addition, the
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school is committed to using part of its delegated budget to support children with SEND.
The school receives funding for each pupil who attends as part of the LRP.
We endeavour to meet the needs of all children with SEND from within our allocated
resources. The school requests Statutory Assessment/Education Health and Care Plans for
any child we believe has significant, lifelong and complex needs in order to receive
additional funding to better meet the pupil’s needs.
How we monitor the impact of our provision for pupils with SEND:
Pupil progress and the effectiveness of our provision is monitored in a number of ways:
Teachers are able to identify pupils early who need additional support
Teachers and teaching assistants can provide support using a range of intervention
programmes
Teachers show clear differentiation in their planning, which also reflects high but
realistic expectations of pupils’ progress
Regular SEND reviews to monitor the effectiveness of provision
Analysis/tracking of data
Pupil feedback
Formal assessments carried out by the Inclusion Team
Inclusion Learning Walks
Lesson observations
Data related to specific interventions – e.g. on-entry/exit assessments
Reports and assessments from outside agencies
Teaching Assistant feedback on intervention programmes and progress
Teacher assessments
Monitoring of Support Plan targets by teachers and Teaching Assistants
Parents views - formal and informal
Use of P-levels for children with SEN working at pre-national curriculum levels
Evaluation of Support Plans
SEND link Governor liaises with the Inclusion Team to have an understanding of how
the relevant policies are being implemented.
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Complaints
If a parent/carer has any concerns, questions or complaints around SEND, they should first
discuss these with either the SENCo, Inclusion Manager or Headteacher. The Inclusion team
will endeavor to resolve the issue or provide reassurance as necessary.
If a parent/carer is not satisfied with the response to their complaint, they may wish to
make a formal complaint. This can be done by following the school’s Complaints
Procedures. These procedures are available from the school office or on the school’s
website:
http://sirthomasabney.hackney.sch.uk/parents/care-of-your-child/complaints-procedure/
Links with other policies:
This SEND policy is linked to the following policies:
Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy
Accessibly Plan
Equality and Inclusion Policy
SEN Information Report
Behaviour Policy
Copies of these policies are available from the school office or on the school’s website:
http://sirthomasabney.hackney.sch.uk/about-us/school-policy/policies/
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Date ratified: March 2018
Reviewed annually
APPENDIX A
Staff list of some of the ways in which we may differentiate the learning in the classroom for
children at Sir Thomas Abney Primary School:
Pupil grouping: Environment:
Mixed ability groups (role models)
Focus groups (Class teacher/TA)
Smaller groups to focus support
Pairs (role models; friendships)
Give each child in the group a role
Review groupings regularly
Adults monitor behaviour and
dynamics in the group/s
Use of real objects and concrete
materials
Visual supports – e.g. pictures of
tricky words; visual timetable;
pictures of tasks/instructions; visual
reminders/prompts
Wordbanks – accessible, clear and
easy to use
22
Clear rules and expectations
Adults monitor pupil participation in
groups (e.g. dominant/passive)
Supportive peer/buddy
Adult led or independent
Equal adult attention and praise to
all children
Being aware of distractions nearby
Word Aware words on display – e.g.
Goldilocks/Anchor words
Motivating displays – representing
ALL the children
Children seated appropriately – e.g.
those with attention difficulties near
the teacher/front of class
Use of indoor/outdoor areas
Language: Support:
Key vocabulary displayed (+ Word
Aware) – use colours and pictures
Adapt language (stick to essential
words)
Wordbanks – in books or at tables
Use of Makaton (if appropriate)
Reinforce and model language –
and repeat as needed
Pre-teach key language
Home languages represented
Use of ‘Communication in Print’
Relate questions to ‘real’ life
Sentence starters
Carefully formed questions –
targeted appropriately
Give instructions in correct order
Extra support from teacher
Support from TA
Peer/buddy support
Scribing
Liaise with Speech & Language
Therapist or Specialist Teacher
Pre- or post- teaching of key
concepts/language
Teach children how to help
themselves if stuck – e.g. 5B’s
Support during whole class sessions
as well as independent tasks
Carefully managed transitions
Open-ended extensions (depth)
Timing: Resources:
Visual timetables of the day and/or Use concrete resources where
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lesson
Allow children enough time to
answer questions
Break activities down into smaller or
shorter tasks
Use timers to motivate or ensure
children know length of activity
Time for questions
Time to reflect
Visible time (IWB/timers)
Carefully managed transitions
Balanced sessions – not too
long/short on some activities
(appropriate pace)
Time prompts
possible – link these to things that
motivate children
Use children’s ideas or interests
when planning
Use everyday, familiar objects
Ensure resources are visible and
have an obvious purpose
Demonstrate resources
Ensure resources are of an
appropriate size
Ensure there are enough resources
for all children
Use ‘Colourful Semantic’ resources
to help with sentence order and
construction
Scaffolded writing frames
Use word mats/sentence starters
Use multiple choice questions with
resources
Adapted worksheets
Have extension work ready (depth)
Marking: Other:
Give verbal feedback (not always
written)
Use annotated photographs
Scribe children’s responses
Differentiated ‘Next steps’
Use symbols/stickers
Opportunities for self-assessment
Praise effort and give rewards
accordingly
Being aware of the social/emotional
aspects of learning – children with
SEND need plenty of self-esteem
boosting
Sometimes, even the way that you
greet children can make a big
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Careful use of peer assessment
Marking should be written clearly
and in child-friendly language
Marking should reflect WILF/WALT
Ask children to teach/show or
explain their understanding (use
iPad)
difference
Allow children with SEND to take
part in whole class discussions
APPENDIX B
Interventions, strategies and support for pupils at Waves 1, 2 and 3.
Early Years Foundation Stage Intervention menu:
Wave 1 – Quality First Teaching Wave2 – Interventions & Groups
Wave 3 – External Support (Statements/EHC
Plans/LRS)
Know SEN history from previous class/setting
Monitor attendance/punctuality
Class visual timetable
Individual visual timetable
Visual task board: Now/next/then…
Sit child at front during w/c or carpet sessions
Language vocabulary group
Motor skills group
Social Stories
Additional 1:1 reading
Additional phonics catch-up
Extra key worker nurture sessions
Own workstation
Support Plan and targets
Individual Speech & Language referral
School Nurse
CAMHS
Educational Psychologist
Occupational Therapy referral
Referral to Hackney Ark
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Adult support on carpet
Targeted support from adult (in/outside)
Visual prompt cards/keyring
Verbal prompting
Calming/fiddle toys
Monitoring of play skills, specific behaviours or speaking/listening
Behaviour reward chart (linked to clear targets)
Motivation/celebration chart/book
Daily liaison with parent/carer
(Paediatric referral)
Application for EHC Plan
Specialist teacher/package
Therapy referral
Social Worker
Phase 1 Intervention menu:
Wave 1 – Quality First Teaching Wave2 – Interventions & Groups
Wave 3 – External Support
Know SEN history from previous class/setting
Monitor attendance/punctuality and home reading
Class visual timetable Individual visual timetable Visual task board:
Now/next/then… Sit child at front during w/c
or carpet sessions Planned targeted support
for specific group Adult support on carpet –
visual and verbal support Targeted support and/or
questions from adult in class
Differentiated and/or scaffolded tasks
Language vocabulary group – e.g. Word Aware
Memory group – e.g. Memory Magic
Motor skills group Social Stories Additional 1:1
reading Additional phonics
catch-up Additional
handwriting practice
Socially Speaking Talking Partners Circle of friends Lego therapy
Own workstation Support Plan and
targets Individual Speech &
Language referral School Nurse First Steps/CAMHS Educational
Psychologist Occupational Therapy
referral Referral to Hackney
Ark (Paediatric referral)
Apply for Education Health Care Plan
Specialist teacher/package
Therapy referral Social Worker
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Calming/fiddle objects – e.g. stress balls
Extra response or processing time
Visual prompt cards/keyring
Verbal prompts from adult Designated ‘buddy’ in class
and/or in the playground Sentence starters Word banks/lists Monitoring of specific
learning behaviours or speaking/listening
Behaviour reward chart (linked to clear targets)
Motivation/celebration chart/book
Daily liaison with parent/carer
Phase 2 Intervention menu:
Wave 1 – Quality First Teaching Wave2 – Interventions & Groups
Wave 3 – External Support
Know SEN history from previous class/setting
Monitor attendance/punctuality, home reading and/or homework
Class visual timetable Individual visual timetable Visual task board:
Now/next/then… Sit child at front during
w/c or carpet sessions Planned targeted support
for specific group Adult support on carpet –
visual and verbal support Targeted support and/or
questions from adult in class
Differentiated and/or
Language vocabulary group – e.g. Word Aware
Memory group – e.g. Memory Magic
Lego Therapy Group (social skills)
LEXIA Individual tutoring for
Literacy and/or Numeracy (Year 6)
Numeracy booster group (pm)
Toe-by-toe (1:1 phonics)
Motor skills group Social Stories Additional 1:1 reading Additional phonics
catch-up
Own workstation Support Plan and
targets Nurture SEND
Literacy group (am) Nurture SEND
maths group (am) Individual Speech &
Language referral School Nurse First Steps/CAMHS Educational
Psychologist Occupational
Therapy referral Referral to Hackney
Ark (Paediatric referral)
Apply for Education Health Care Plan
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scaffolded tasks Use of practical resources Extra response or
processing time Visual prompt cards Verbal prompts from
adult Designated ‘buddy’ in
class and/or in the playground
Sentence starters and writing frames
Word banks/lists Monitoring of specific
learning behaviours or speaking/listening
Behaviour reward chart (linked to clear targets)
Motivation/celebration chart/book
Regular liaison with parent/carer
Additional handwriting/spelling practice
Socially Speaking Talking Partners Circle of friends
Specialist teacher/package
Therapy referral Social Worker
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